As I walked the hall, a distinct smell hit me, lavender and something else. Something familiar I couldn’t quite place. The tent opened up to a makeshift lounge, with white sofas and clear tables, that looked like something you’d see in the VIP section of a club. I wondered if this was where the artists would be. The only thing I knew for sure was that if I ran into Bad Bunny here without Dee, she’d kill me. There was no one though, or so I thought until I stopped walking in the center of the room, and saw the stage ahead. There was a man dressed in all black standing there.
“Um. Hi,” I said. My voice sounded meek. I hoped it didn’t sound that way aloud.
“Hi.” His voice was a soft, low rumble that vibrated into me and through me.
He stepped off the stage and started walking toward me. My heart thumped louder with each beat of each step. As he drew near, I was able to get a better look at him and gasped. It was him. Undeniably handsome with square shoulders, a defined jawline, and when he smiled, a slightly crooked tilt of his lips, which spoke of an effortless charm. By the time he closed the distance between us, I was sure I’d stopped breathing altogether.
“I’ve been waiting for you,” he said, taking the remaining air in my lungs.
“Why do you keep saying that?”
“Because it’s true.”
“What do you mean you’ve been waiting for me? What does that mean?”
“I found her,” he said loudly.
Someone walked quickly into the room. I turned to see the guard who’d been standing by the door.
“Sir, I am so sorry, I didn’t—”
“The search is over. I found her,” River said again.
“What are you talking about?” My heart pounded in my ears.
“This woman will keep me company tonight,” he said, ignoring me.
I wasn’t sure who he was speaking to anymore, but then I turned and noticed the tent drapes had been pulled open and the line of women and the people standing all around outside the tent could see us. Maybe I’d drunk too much tequila, but I could have sworn he just said I’d be keeping him company tonight.
I turned to face him. “I’m sorry, my name wasn’t on the list. I wasn’t even—”
“You’re my pick, Penelope Guzman.”
“But I didn’t even sign up for this.”
“You didn’t have to.” His smile was wolfish, territorial. “I’m the host of Carnival this year and I’m choosing to spend my night with you.” He took my hand in his.
“I . . . ” I looked around again, at a loss for words. I was entirely too inebriated to fully grasp what was happening, so I said the first thing that came to mind: “Our families hate each other.”
“Tell me something I don’t know.” He was no longer smiling, but he looked just as amused as he did a minute ago.
There was a glow in his eyes, a glint. He still didn’t look nice, but the adrenaline coursing through me was too palpable for me to turn away, to yank my hand from his, and if I’d really been analyzing what I was feeling, I would classify it as excitement. The most powerful man on the island, the most sought after, the most mysterious, the one I was told to never, ever summon by name, was holding my hand. I left it there, ignoring the shiver that slithered down my spine. Wela was going to disown me for this. I felt that warning in the pit of my stomach and it was only then that I pulled my hand from his.
“What happened, little witch? You remembered who you were?” River chuckled.
“I’m not the witch here.” I met his gaze. “And I’m not little.”
“No, not at all.” He looked amused. I was annoyed.
“Why’d you pick me?”
“Why wouldn’t I?”
“There are a lot of women on the island.”
“Why’d you stand in line?”
“I thought it was the bathroom.”
“Really?” He brought a fist up to cough into it, hiding a laugh.
“I’m not joking.” I clenched my shaky hands into fists.
“I didn’t think you were.”
I swallowed. “So, why would you pick me?”
“Why would I not?”
I blinked, shaking my head. We were getting nowhere fast. “What am I supposed to do? As your chosen companion, I mean.”
“Spend the night with me.”
“Oh.” I was finding it difficult to breathe, let alone speak. “And if I don’t?”
“You have to.”
“Says who?”
“The law. You should thank your father for that one. Oh, that’s right, you can’t.” He grinned; it was a slow, sexy grin that made my stomach flip despite myself. “You either spend it with me or spend it in jail, and you know the conditions of these jails.”
“I don’t like to be given ultimatums.”
“If you don’t like ultimatums, you shouldn’t have come to Carnival. The moment you did, you sealed your fate.” He closed the distance between us again. “As a matter of fact, the moment you came back to the island, you sealed your fate.”